Overwatch Update Adds New Map Busan and Reworks Earthshatter

The Overwatch update that went live today added the South Korean map, Busan, and made tweaks to several Heroes. The more significant changes include the nerf of the Scrap Gun alternate fire and the overhaul of Reinhardt’s Earthshatter ability.

Busan

The new control map takes players to D.Va’s hometown in South Korea. The three control points in Busan are Sanctuary, Downtown, and MEKA Base. Developers worked with the cinematics department in order to make the map look just like the one seen in Blizzard’s recent Shooting Star animated short.

“There are three blast shields that go up and down, providing cover from enemy fire,” said Senior Environment Artist, Simon Fuchs. “An alarm accompanied by a flashing light and steam indicates when the shields will rise from the ground, signaling to the team that it is safe to attack the point. This is the first time we’ve intentionally designed moving terrain as part of a map’s strategy.”

Earthshatter

Earthshatter

Due to many inconsistencies and performance issues, Reinhardt’s Earthshatter has been completely overhauled in today’s update. As of now, the ability will be much more accurate when targeting enemies close to walls. Earthshatter will also follow inclines and move around the payload. Hitbox related issues have been fixed and will no longer hit enemies behind barriers.

Brigitte

In Overwatch, when two charging heroes collide, they both get knocked down. This effect can be observed while playing Reinhardt and Doomfist, and now Brigitte is also affected by this.

The precision of the ‘relative aim sensitivity while zoomed slider’ on Ana’s Biotic Rifle and Widowmaker’s Widow’s Kiss has been increased. Widowmaker’s Grappling Hook now retains momentum when used on walls without a ledge, allowing for more effective use of the ability. Roadhog’s Scrap Gun secondary fire now has damage falloff, making it less powerful at longer ranges.

The rest of the update includes a handful of general changes as well as lots of bug fixes. Grand Master players can now queue up with players within 350 skill rating and Blizzard World is now available to play in the deathmatch gamemodes. For the full list of bug fixes and changes, check out the patch notes.